Football kickoff: New coaches at Novato, San Marin hope to keep programs rolling

As usual, the Novato and San Marin high school football teams will battle for city bragging rights this season. But when the teams square off Oct. 5 at Novato, the game is likely to have a different feel.

That's because both schools will have new head coaches roaming the sidelines.

At Novato, it was former assistant Jason Searle who was in charge Monday as the first official day of football practice took place. A little further north along Novato Boulevard, new head coach Steve Stanfel — a former assistant at San Marin — who was running the show as the Mustangs practiced.

"This feels fine," said Searle, who replaced Travis Brackett, who stepped down this summer after a 13-year run as the Hornets' head coach during which he posted a 124-36 record. "A lot of these guys I've coached two years already and some of them three years. It's definitely feeling like this is my group. And really, the Novato football family is so close that it is what it's been. This is the Novato football family and that's what important to me and to these guys."

Novato's Christian Villasana, a senior who will anchor the offensive line as its center, agreed that the team's familiarity with Searle should make the transition from Brackett seamless.

"It's always going to be a little different but it's not as different because (Searle) has been around," Villasana said. "He's coached most of us before, so it's not as difficult a transition."

Teammate McCoy Wegner said things are going well.

"He's pretty focused," Wegner said of Searle. "We know we want to win. He's our baseball coach and I think he takes a similar approach to what he does in baseball. We're pretty serious all the time, we're conditioning a lot and we're getting a lot of reps on offense. ... I like the direction we're going in. We're starting to build a team."

That positive vibe also was present Monday at San Marin, where Stanfel is succeeding Dan Hickey as coach after Hickey's five-year run.

"There's a few similarities between the coaches, but a lot is different," said San Marin senior Vince Cerruti. "We feel like a winning team this year. Last year, we just didn't have that mentality. We're working way harder this year; we just hope it pays off."

Cerruti and quarterback Manny Wilkins said the attitude adjustment is a tribute to rather than a dig at Hickey. That's because it was Hickey who engineered a turnaround from a 1-5 start that climaxed with a berth in the North Coast Section Division IV championship game.

It also helps, the players and Stanfel said, that they are familiar with each other.

"It helps a lot," Stanfel said. "We've got some changes with both our offense and defense but we're a lot alike as far as what we've done the past few years. Right now, the expectations are to keep working hard. Working hard, I think we'll win ball games. I like our chances."

"So far, things are going very good," added San Marin running back Kyle Chernoff. "So far, he's making us work real hard and at this point things are looking really good. And the long playoff run kind of plays in our favor. We got a lot more experience at the varsity level, got us used to the speed of the game, and also gave us some momentum for this season."

Both Searle and Stanfel say there is no reason their programs shouldn't be strong again.

"The kids are great," Searle said. "Like I said, I've coached these kids for so long that it's really just a progression. For two years we've been pretty successful as freshmen and JV — varsity is a completely different animal — but I think these kids are looking forward to what they can do. And I just want to do it with them."

"I think it is going smoother than I expected," Stanfel said. "We've expected more out of the kids, and I think they've come through. ... The commitment is there from the kids. They're definitely pushing each other. You love it as coaches when you don't have to do that."